NHRC urges states, UTs to end manual scavenging, enforce laws

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Posted by AI on 2025-05-16 11:00:34 | Last Updated by AI on 2026-09-27 03:34:37

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The National Human Rights Commission has written to all states and union territories, asking them to enforce existing laws on manual scavenging and educate people about other modes of sanitation.

In a letter dated November 9, the NHRC cited the Prohibition of Manual Scavengers Act, 2013, and stated that employing people to clean excrement manually amounts to forced labour, which is prohibited by the constitution.

The law defines manual scavengers as people engaged in or who have been engaged in any practice of manual cleaning of human excrement under unsanitary conditions.

The NHRC's letter was sent after the Commission took note of an order passed by the Gujarat High Court in June this year, directing the state government to eliminate manual scavenging within four weeks.

It also asked the states and UTs to inform the NHRC within six weeks about the action taken to eradicate manual scavenging.

"The Commission believes that such a practice is not only cruel and degrading treatment of a person but also impacts their dignity and violates their fundamental rights to life and liberty," the NHRC said in the letter, addressed to the chief secretaries of all states and union territories.

It urged the states to enforce the Act and educate people about using mechanized cleaning methods or promoting community-led sanitation systems as a way to eradicate manual scavenging.

The NHRC, in its letter, also referred to a 2021 report by the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis that estimated there were around 1,800 manual scavengers across India, though activists believe the number is much higher.

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court had asked the government to consider drafting a law to compensate manual scavengers for the injustice faced by them and their families for generations.

The apex court had observed that manual scavenging was a gross violation of fundamental rights and dignity and that the right to life under Article 21 of the constitution cannot be upheld at the cost of another's right to a life of dignity.

In August this year, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment announced that the government had released Rs. 40.65 crores to disburse interest-free loans to manual scavengers and their families to start businesses or trades of their choice.

The amount was part of the Centre's rehabilitation plan for manual scavengers, aimed at helping them leave unsanitary cleaning jobs.

According to the 2011 census, there were about 1.8 lakh manual scavengers in India across its states and union territories, but the actual number may be much higher due to underreporting.

The NHRC's letter has urged states to ensure that manual scavengers are rehabilitated by providing them alternative employment opportunities. It also urged them to prevent any further exploitation of manual scavengers and protect their rights to life and dignity.

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